1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a disk-like recording medium. More particularly, this invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a disk-like recording medium for recording and/or reproducing a disk-like recording medium selectively extracted from a plurality of disk-like recording media.
2. Background of the Invention
Heretofore, there are available disk reproducing apparatus in which a plurality of disk-like recording media, e.g., 100 preformatted optical disks such as compact discs (CDs) are stocked and a desired optical disk is selected for reproducing an information signal such as a recorded musical sound signal. This disk reproducing apparatus includes a disk stocker apparatus in which 100 optical disks are stocked perpendicularly, a disk conveying mechanism and a disk reproducing mechanism. The disk conveying mechanism selectively extracts one optical disk from the 100 optical disks stocked in the disk stocker apparatus and conveys the selected optical disk. The disk reproducing apparatus reproduces the information signal recorded on the optical disk conveyed by this disk conveying mechanism.
The disk stocker apparatus of this disk reproducing apparatus includes a rotary table having 100 disk stocker portions in which 100 optical disks are stocked separately and a table driving mechanism for rotating this rotary table. The 100 disk stocker portion on the rotary table are radially arranged about the rotation center of this rotary table, and one optical disk is perpendicularly stocked in each disk stocker portion. Accordingly, 100 optical disks stocked in the disk stocker portion are arranged in a doughnut fashion.
The disk conveying mechanism for selectively extracting one optical disk from the 100 optical disks stocked in such disk stocker portion and conveying the selected optical disk includes first and second arms and a disk guide or the like. The first arm upwardly supports the optical disk and pushes the optical disk in the upper direction. The second arm holds the optical disk in cooperation with the first arm and moves the optical disk toward the disk reproducing mechanism side. The disk guide guides the optical disk conveyed by the first and second arms up to the loading position of the disk reproducing mechanism.
The optical disk conveyed by the disk conveying mechanism is chucked by a disk table and a chucking plate of the disk reproducing apparatus. The disk reproducing mechanism includes a disk rotary drive mechanism for rotating the chucked optical disk, an optical pickup for reproducing an information signal such as a musical sound signal recorded on the rotating optical disk, a pickup drive mechanism for moving the optical pickup in the radius direction of the optical pickup, etc.
A user selects an optical disk to be reproduced by such disk player by operating operation switches. Specifically, when a predetermined signal is inputted by the operation switch, a control apparatus outputs a predetermined control signal based on such input signal to initially rotate the rotary table to move the selected disk stocker portion on the conveying trajectory of the disk conveying mechanism. Then, the disk conveying mechanism is driven to eject the optical disk from the rotary table, and the optical disk is conveyed to the disk reproducing mechanism, thereby loading this optical disk. Thus, the optical pickup reproduces the information signal such as the musical sound signal recorded on the optical disk.
If the reproducing operation of the optical disk is finished, then the chucking of the optical disk by the reproducing mechanism is released, the optical disk is returned by the disk conveying mechanism to the rotary table side and stocked in the original disk stocker portion, whereby the predetermined reproducing operation by the above-mentioned selection operation is ended and the reproducing operation of the next optical disk becomes possible.
However, in the above-mentioned disk stocker apparatus, in order to miniaturize the apparatus and to improve a space factor, a spacing between the optical disks should be reduced as much as possible. Also, it is requested that optical disks can be ejected and stocked reliably. However, since each disk stocker portion for stocking the optical disk vertically is of the structure that the outer peripheral surface of the optical disk, i.e., the whole of the thickness portion of the optical disk, is supported, the optical disk may be scratched. Also, when the optical disk is loaded, it is unavoidable that harm to the disk tends to occur.
In the disk stocker apparatus used in the above-mentioned disk reproducing apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, a bottom surface 2a of each disk stocker portion 2 of a rotary table 1 is formed as a flat surface, and the whole of the outer peripheral surface (thick portion) of an optical disk D is supported by the bottom surface 2a. In the thus supported optical disk D, a thickness t is generally 1.2 mm. However, since it is extremely difficult to accurately form the thickness t as 1.2 mm, the thickness t is given a tolerance ranging from +0.3 mm to -0.1 mm. Accordingly, the maximum dimension of the thickness t of the optical disk D is 1.5 mm and the minimum dimension is 1.1 mm.
As a consequence, adding a spare thickness of 0.1 mm to the maximum thickness of 1.5 mm of the optical disk D obtained from the above-mentioned tolerance, a width S of the bottom surface 2a of the disk stocker portion 2 becomes 1.6 mm. Then, since the minimum dimension of the thickness t of the optical disk D is 1.1 mm, in this case, a large clearance of 0.5 mm is produced between it and the disk stocker portion 2. If there is produced such clearance, then the optical disk D is no longer supported vertically by the disk stocker portion 2 but supported with an inclination. As a result, the optical disk D will contact with an opening-side corner portion 2b of the disk stocker portion 2 or will contact with and rub against the other optical disk D stocked in the adjacent disk stocker portion 2, thereby resulting in the optical disk D being scratched or damaged.